September 27, 2008
Carla left a comment here on MemsaabStory early on saying: “Helen is completely sui generis.” (I love learning new phrases, especially clever ones.) Paint It Pink puts Helen in proper perspective also in her blog’s mission statement. I have myself weighed in on the joys of Helen many times before, but I recently decided that I needed to devote some time to her again. I know there are one or two people out there who don’t care for her, but there are also one or two people out there who think Sarah Palin would make a fine VP (or P!). You know who you are, and you can go away from here (well, if it’s just a Helen thing you can stay :-) (sorry but the election is beginning to get on my last good nerve).
read more »
Posted in Excellent Use of Helen, Hindi movies, Memsaab's lists |
119 Comments »
September 14, 2008
Sixties charm in a 1971 film! Despite the lack of Shammi (and Pran), this movie embodies just about everything I love about that decade in Hindi cinema. Lovely melodic songs, gorgeous scenery, a plot that stays on course and moves along briskly, Helen in a small part, and a feisty heroine (Asha Parekh, in one of my favorite roles of hers): ah, bliss! The best rainy day watching you can find. Navin Nischol stars alongside Asha, and though he doesn’t set the screen on fire, he is perfect here: an attractive, comfortably solid, gentle-humored guy with a good heart. Comic actor Deven Verma debuted very competently as a director with this movie.
read more »
Posted in Excellent Use of Helen, Hindi movies |
31 Comments »
August 28, 2008
This heartwarming film has some good laughs and sweet romance. I’ve noticed before, and noticed again with this, that Rajesh Khanna didn’t seem to really mind sharing screen space, and even being upstaged by, other good actors, in this case even during the peak of his career. Here it makes for a nice balance between the romantic story and the great chemistry between Ashok Kumar and Om Prakash, who play two older men—one rich, one poor—who have more in common than they think, and a lot to learn from each other too.
read more »
Posted in Excellent Use of Helen, Hindi movies |
32 Comments »
July 25, 2008
Although this movie was made in 1964, it very well could have been made in 1954 or even 1944 given the quality of its special effects. They are so very special! In addition, the heroine of the film is none other than the ever-fabulous Helen, opposite wrestler Dara Singh. Aaya Toofan was the source for this trivia post, and for my avatar as well. This is not to say that it’s a good film; it most emphatically is not. It’s really bad. Silly story, bad acting, the whole nine yards. But it’s B-movie fun for those who enjoy such things (I do! I do!), and of course there is Helen. And wrestlers. Lots and lots of wrestlers.
read more »
Posted in Excellent Use of Helen, Hindi movies |
25 Comments »
June 17, 2008
This film belongs to Neetu Singh: she is the central character in it, and she gives an excellent performance. Yes: it’s a film centered around a female protagonist! A rare treat indeed! Beyond that, it’s an excellent film which highlights social issues (plight of the poor, criminal reforms), has a fab retro vibe, and is just plain entertaining, by turns funny and moving.
I love this movie!
read more »
Posted in Hindi movies |
17 Comments »
May 20, 2008
Bhappi Sonie month continues here on MemsaabStory with Tum Haseen Main Jawan—notable for being Dharmendra and Hema Malini’s first film together. Their romance is reason enough to watch, but there are plenty of other masala ingredients to keep any filmi fan happy too! Lively songs from Shankar Jaikishan; Helen and Pran as husband and wife; Rajendranath and Iftekhar; and not one, but two misplaced kids. Okay, there are some plot holes you could drive a pantechnicon through, but we’ve forgiven others for worse.
read more »
Posted in Hindi movies |
22 Comments »
May 17, 2008
The title screens are pretty cheerful, with hearts and rainbows and whatnot. The opening scene is not. But before I get started on that, this is another Bhappi Sonie produced-and-directed film, and one of the last of the Shammi-starrers (as hero). He is *sigh* aging and bloated—but I still adore him!
There’s plenty else to love, too. The songs by Shankar Jaikishan are marvellous, including what I think is one of Helen’s finest numbers EVER. And that’s saying something! There’s a very young Vinod Khanna, Mehmood in a Cleopatra wig, sparkling and gorgeous Leena Chandavarkar, and some good subtitle mischief to boot.
read more »
Posted in Excellent Use of Helen, Hindi movies, Yahoo! Shammi! |
10 Comments »
May 9, 2008
Bhappi Sonie is one of my favorite directors (Ek Phool Char Kante, Janwar, Brahmchari, Tum Haseen Main Jawan…wah!) and this film stars Dharmendra with Vyjayanthimala, Helen, Pran and Mehmood! It also contains one of my all-time favorite songs “Dekha Hai Teri Aankhon Mein” by Shankar Jaikishan. I searched high and low for it for several years and finally got my grubby little hands on copy that worked. Happy happy joy joy! Unless you hate fabulous songs, a great cast and a riveting story with lots of twists, you will love this movie.
read more »
Posted in Excellent Use of Helen, Hindi movies |
19 Comments »
March 12, 2008
Today I am going to stray from my usual format for discussing movies. I can’t offer a synopsis of the story, since it was nonsensical and bewildering and I lost the thread about halfway through. The closest I could come would be to say that it’s “The Love Boat” meets every cheesy spy movie/tv show ever made.
But I present this argument: a coherent plot is not always necessary. Despite the lack of one, this film had entertaining goodies a-plenty.
read more »
Posted in Excellent Use of Helen, Hindi movies |
30 Comments »
February 12, 2008
After Ansoo Ban Gaye Phool, I set out to find more Deb Mukherjee films to see whether he could hold up under further scrutiny. I found this one:
Hooray! It’s 154 minutes of Trauma-Drama-O-Rama in Eastman Kodak Color. The main ingredients in this potboiler are:
- Several Big Misunderstandings
- A series of Bad Decisions
- An endless string of Coincidences
- Many Lost Opportunities
- A couple of Unnecessary Side Plots
and some very tight pants and loudly patterned shirts. If you don’t care for soap operas then you needn’t read further. You won’t like Adhikar. If you do sneak peeks at soaps on sick days and holidays…read on! But be warned: I can’t do this justice without a verrrrry long narrative and many many screen shots.
read more »
Posted in Hindi movies |
32 Comments »
MemsaabStory 